Working For Families And Quarriers Steps & Stages Childcare Service Presentation Delivered by Kerry McGuire - North Ayrshire Working For Families & Yvonne Greenwood – Quarriers, Steps and Stages

Childcare within the Home It was highlighted through research that within North Ayrshire that out of hours childcare was a barrier to WFF parents entering employment. Tenders were received, scored and the project was awarded to Quarriers one of the largest Social Care Charities within Scotland

Target Group Parents on Low Income Lone Parents Parents with Stresses in the Household (e.g. Disabilities, Mental Health, Drugs or Alcohol issues) Working for Families is aimed at:

Service Delivery In North Ayrshire our Childcare in the Home Service is called Stages & Stages : Steps and Stages is registered with the Care Commission to provide flexible childcare in the home: with pick-up and drop off at school from 07: :30 7 days a week

Steps and Stages Mission Statement The Project will strive as a team to care for and support each other and the families we work with We will provide the best possible service within the security of the family home We respect the value and beliefs of each family as well as our own, thereby working together as equals

Difficulties Encountered At the initial outset of Stages & Stages we encountered: Delays with our Care Commission registration Problems obtaining premises to house the service locally Problems recruiting staff to keep up with the demand of childcare.

How we aim to achieve this Completing an in-depth initial and ongoing assessment of families and children’s needs Working within and explaining to families Quarriers policies, standards and safety procedures Providing a stimulating environment with appropriate activities or experiences promoting individual needs, stages of development, choices and preferences

Accessible and ongoing communication between families, individual children, child care workers and Steps and Stages Project. Ongoing training and development for a skilled and experienced team of childcare workers who promote Quarriers policies, standards and procedures. Completing an in-depth initial and ongoing assessment of families and children’s needs

Working within and explaining to families Quarriers policies, standards and safety procedures Providing a stimulating environment with appropriate activities or experiences promoting individual needs, stages of development, choices and preferences

Current Achievements We provided support to our first family in November 2005 and have continued to grow since

Where are we now We are now providing approximately 800 hours of child care a month We have provided active support to 47 families and are currently supporting 28 families We support nine families who have continued to use the service although their funding has finished. (Though there remains significant issues to these families with regard to the cost of childcare within school holidays. From late 2006 we have started to receive referrals from other agencies such as social work and Barnardos

Feedback From the Families Excellent Service Trustworthy Staff Would not be able to go to work if the service was not available Fantastic Service The difference the Service has made is unbelievable

Steps and Stages will continue to develop its capacity to support families within North Ayrshire We will continue to promote awareness of the service to families and other agencies We will develop the range of services we provide to children and families We will continue to build on and develop the strong relationship we have with Working for Families Where do we go from here